Chembalo

Chembalo (Italian. Cembalo, Ukr. Chembalo, Crimean-Tat. Çembalo) is a Genoese fortress on the territory of Balaklava, a suburb of Sevastopol. In the XV-XVIII centuries. was under the control of the Ottoman Empire and was called Balaklava. The ensemble of fortifications is located on the top and slopes of the Fortress Mountain (formerly Castron). Now it is in a state of ruins and serves as the main attraction of the city. To the Barnabo Grillo Tower is a staircase from Nazukin Embankment. Chembalo is one of the Genoese fortresses of Gazaria. Representatives of the Genoese Republic settled on the territory of modern Balaclava around 1343 (there are no traces of more ancient buildings on the territory of the fortress). Around the middle of the XIV century, the first fortifications appeared on Mount Castron. Apparently, on the northern slope it was a moat and a rampart, fortified by a palisade, and from the north-east a stone tower with a gateway was arranged. Traces of these original structures are preserved on the northern slope of the mountain. However, in 1354, the Horde Khan Janibek took the fortress and burned the existing buildings.

After the conclusion of the peace treaty, the mountain with the remains of the fortifications was returned to the Genoese and the fortress was rebuilt. On the Fortress Hill was built the City of St. Nicholas (Upper Town) - the administrative part of the fortress - and the City of St. George (Lower or Outer City), surrounded by three lines of walls (on the north-eastern, western and southern sides), in which ordinary citizens lived. The administration located in the City of St. Nicholas included two treasurers, a vicar judge, a bishop, elders, a messenger and trumpeters. The garrison of the fortress by the XV century consisted of forty riflemen (and their number included a barber, two trumpeters and a police bailiff). Seven of them, headed by the commandant, carried out the permanent protection of the Upper City of St. Nicholas. At the beginning of the XV century, the garrison of the fortress had to participate in clashes with detachments located in the mountains in the south-west of the Crimea of the principality of Feodoro (the language of the principality was Greek). The fortress was captured by the Feodorites in 1423. The Genoese soon expelled the feodorites from the fortress; in order to continue hostilities, they founded their fortress Kalamita (Inkerman) nearby, and the Genoese hurried to strengthen Chembalo (in 1424-1425). In 1433-1434, Chembalo was again captured by the feodorites, and the authorities of Genoa in response equipped a military expedition. The siege of the fortress under the leadership of Carlo Lomellino was crowned with success: almost all the besieged feodorites died, and their leader Olu Bey (the Turkic nickname of the Mangup prince, the son of the Feodorian prince Alexei, whose real name is unknown) was captured.

Main Tower (Donjon)

In the 1460s, the fortifications of the City of St. George were rebuilt, and in the southeast corner a citadel was erected with a powerful donjon tower, which was located at one of the highest points. In 1475, Cembalo was captured by the Turks. In the fortress, called Balyk-yuv (“Fish nest”), a Turkish garrison was placed, and later the Crimean khans who had been guilty before the sultan served their sentences here. Later, the name of the fortress gave the modern toponym "Balaklava". Since 1783, after the annexation of the Crimea to the Russian Empire, the territory of the fortress was used to accommodate the soldiers of the garrison, and later fell into decline, losing its strategic importance. During the Crimean War, Donjon was partially destroyed, which was never fully restored. On the eastern slope of the mountain, you can still see the terraces on which, during the Crimean War, the Italian camp was located. Donjon suffered greatly in the summer of 1942 and spring of 1944 during the period of defense and fighting for the liberation of Sevastopol. July 18, 2008 due to heavy rains, part of the tower collapsed. At the top of the cliff was the city of St. Nicholas - a citadel, surrounded on one side by a cliff, and on the other by powerful walls with eight towers, with two towers standing alone and not connected to the walls. Inside the citadel was a consular castle-tower (presumably about 15 m in height), a massaria (customs) and a church, which probably served as a tomb of noble residents. The consul was elected in Genoa for a period of one year and was the main executive and judicial power of the city, he was also together with the castellan of the Castle of St. Nicholas was the head of the garrison, consisting of 40 crossbowmen. The consul’s personal guard appeared to be several Tatar cavalrymen.

The citadel and the remains of the walls.

On the slope of the mountain was the city of St. George, in which lived most of the citizens - artisans, traders, fishermen. The lower city was also surrounded by walls with six towers, and from the south was protected by a cliff. Below, under the mountain, in the bay, there was a port and a market. In the 1460s, the fortifications of the city of St. George were rebuilt, and in the southeast corner was erected a citadel with a powerful tower-donjon, which was located in one of the highest points, on top of a cliff, and today preserved at full height (about 20 m). Donjon had three tiers: the first was occupied by a water tank, the second floor was residential (there were preserved the remains of a fireplace), the third tier occupied the watch, it is possible that the donjon was also used as a lighthouse. The water in the tank came through a clay pipeline from the source of Kefalo-Vrisi (Greek Κεφαλή κρύση - the head of the source), which is located at the top of the eponymous beam, on Mount Spilia (Greek). Σπήλια is a cave; the source is still used to supply Balaklava. The famous Polish poet Adam Mickiewicz during a trip to the Crimea created a magnificent series of sonnets, which were published in 1826. Sonnet No. 17 from the Crimean cycle is dedicated to the fortress of Chembalo ("The ruins of the castle in Balaklava"):

XVII Ruins of Balaclava Castle The ruins of the fortress, whose ancient Ungrateful Crimea, yours guarded sleep. A giant skull protruding bastion, Where the bastard lives now and people are worse than the bastard. I'm going up the stairs. There was an arcade. Here's the sign. Perhaps the hero is buried here? But the name that was the storm of the earthly tribes, Like a worm, wrapped in grape leaves. Where the Italian sword fought back the Mongols, Where the Greeks wrote their verb on the walls, Where the path to Mecca went and where the prayer was read, There is a black vulture over the cemetery, Like a black banner, a silent sign of sadness, Over a dead city where there was a plague recently. (Per. W. Lewick) The image of the city of Chembalo is used in the popular role-playing quest of Ivan Tkachev - "Fortress".